Songs of Innocence and of Experience

Songs of Innocence and of Experience Summary and Analysis of "Infant Sorrow"

The companion poem to “Infant Joy,” this brief piece focuses on the pain and tribulation accompanying childbirth, but from the infant’s perspective. He finds himself “helpless” and “naked,” but also describes himself as a “fiend hid in a cloud,” suggesting future harms he may perpetrate. To the infant fresh from the safety of his mother’s womb, there is no comfort in the father’s arms, so he settles for sulking at his mother’s breast.

Analysis

"Infant Sorrow" follows the Innocence rhyme scheme AABB for its two brief stanzas. The first quatrain and half of the second include words full of energy, such as "groaned," "leapt," "piping," "Struggling," and "Striving," while the last couplet gives up in defeat with the words "Bound," "weary," and "sulked." The lively child has given way to a tired, world-weary infant in mere moments.

This AABB rhyme scheme is often used by Blake in Songs of Innocence to evoke this sing-song quality of children's songs, and by extension their innocence and unquestioning joy at life. The “Laughing Song” is truly a song,...

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Answer: Showing more than ‘the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul’, Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience reveals a symbolic development which existed in opposition to conventional concepts of modernity and morality. Blake’s...

Essays for Songs of Innocence and of Experience

Songs of Innocence and of Experience essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of the poems in Songs of Innocence and of Experience by William Blake.